Carnival Act
by Marphisa
Summary: You know how Flynn called the Merry Band a carnival act? What if he was more right than he knew? If you liked "Princess," you'll like this.


Summary: So this is inspired by Flynn's comments in "Broken" (season 2, episode 3). He called the Merry Band a carnival act, which got me thinking (Yes, I know. That's dangerous.). What if Zedd didn't catch up with Flynn as soon as he did, and Flynn had a run-in with the law? What if Zedd decided he needed the rest of the "carnival act" to free Flynn?

Everything that happened with Richard, Kahlan, and Cara stays the same. The only changes to the episode are the ones I just described: Zedd didn't catch Flynn and has returned to bring the rest of the Merry Band to rescue him. Just consider this an episode added between "Broken" and "Touched". With that said: on with the show.

P.S. For the fans of the books, keep an eye out. I've used some people and places as a tribute of sorts.

"What do you mean you didn't find him?"

"It's not that I didn't find him," Zedd sighed. "He's in Black Arrow's Point like we thought. To be more specific, he's in the dungeon of the mayor's keep." Zedd's bushy eyebrows drew down over his eyes, clearly conveying his exasperation with the situation.

"You couldn't magic him out, wizard?" Cara asked skeptically. "I thought you were a wizard of the First Order."

Zedd's brows lowered even more as he glowered quite spectacularly at the Mord'Sith. "No," he said sharply.

Cara rolled her eyes but prudently kept any further comments to herself.

"How are we going to get Flynn out?" Richard asked, drawing attention to the real matter at hand.

Kahlan stepped forward, her shoulders back and her chin raised. "They will let him go if the Mother Confessor commands it," she said.

"Unfortunately, I don't believe they will, my dear," Zedd rumbled. "I spoke with the mayor; and he informed me, rather rudely, that he answers to a new authority in the Midlands and not to the Mother Confessor."

"_New_ authority?" Kahlan tensed, a scowl coming to her lips at the thought of this unlooked for rebellion.

Zedd nodded ominously. "The High Lord Regent of Aydindril."

Kahlan's indignation burned in her eyes, her thoughts open for everyone to see.

"Before you march off to Aydindril to confess the High Lord Fool who's taken your place, Mother Confessor, perhaps we should deal with freeing Flynn," Cara drawled.

Kahlan's scowl deepened even further, but she reluctantly muttered, "You're right."

"So _now_ how do we get Flynn out?" Richard asked again.

"I have a plan," Zedd announced, gesturing grandly.

The other three shared a glance but obligingly sat down around the remains of their campfire to let Zedd outline his plan.

"Black Arrow's Point will be celebrating a very important festival in a few days. There will be minstrels, magicians, performers of all kinds. Traditionally, the best of these performers are invited to perform for the mayor and his guests in his keep." Zedd raised one eyebrow, inviting the others to finish his thought.

"Zedd." Kahlan's tone clearly said she didn't like where Zedd's plan was going.

"Hear me out, my dear," Zedd urged. He worried that if he allowed Kahlan to mutiny now, he might loose Richard and Cara too. "Once we're inside the keep, we can sneak off and get Flynn out of the dungeon. It's a brilliant plan." Zedd was obviously pleased with himself, if his grin was anything to go by.

"But how are we getting into the keep?" Richard demanded, clearly exasperated at having missed something important.

As Kahlan pulled Zedd aside to tell him in no uncertain terms how crazy his plan was, Cara turned to Richard. "The wizard wants us to pose as a carnival act to get into the keep," she summarized with a scowl.

"That's brilliant!" Richard cried.

"And just how are we going to convince the mayor we're some sort of carnival act?" Kahlan asked. She hadn't liked Zedd's plan, but Richard was the Seeker and Lord Rahl and his agreement decided the matter for everyone. So the entire group found themselves marching toward Black Arrow's Point, fleshing out Zedd's plan as they walked. Kahlan had decided she might as well join the planning if only to keep Richard and Zedd from coming up with something any more ridiculous than posing as a traveling carnival act.

"I've a few skills up my sleeves," Zedd chuckled.

"She's right, though, Zedd. What about the rest of us?" Richard asked.

"Well, my boy, haven't you any skills other than chopping wood and tracking things?"

Richard was quiet for a moment, thinking of what performing skills he might be hiding. "I can do birdcalls," he mumbled to himself. "I know! I can throw knives! I've seen performers doing that at festivals." Richard looked quite pleased with himself.

Cara rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm over something so trivial; and Kahlan grinned, charmed by the same enthusiasm.

"And you could sing, Kahlan," he continued, excited.

Kahlan shot him a quizzical look. "How do you know I can sing?"

Richard glanced away shyly. "I overheard you singing to Renn when he couldn't sleep," he admitted at last.

Kahlan's answering smile was that of a woman deeply in love, and Richard found himself beaming back whether he may have wanted to or not. When they were able to pull themselves away from each other, Kahlan turned her flustered attention to Cara.

"What can you do, Cara?"

"Kill enemies of Lord Rahl," the Mord'Sith answered immediately.

"Maybe something that _doesn't_ involve killing people," Richard suggested.

"Murder tends to be considered more barbaric than entertaining," Kahlan agreed.

Cara pursed her lips and raised one eyebrow. "I am Mord'Sith; most of the Midlands consider me a barbarian." Her usual cockiness shone through her statement; she seemed incredibly proud of her reputation, deserved or not.

"You'll be a barbarian queen from deep in the Wilds," Zedd announced. "The people of the Midlands don't know much about the people of the Wilds. All you'll have to do is stand there and look intimidating."

"You've been practicing for this your whole life," Richard cut in. Cara merely smirked at him as she shouldered past.

The question of costumes was addressed when the group reached a small village about a day's walk from Black Arrow's Point. Zedd had announced that he could only do so much magic. It would be for the best if they simply acquired what costumes they could. He would have to use magic to change his appearance and to disguise the Sword of Truth. Everything else, he said, should be real.

For Richard, they decided he would be the ultimate woodsman. His costume was quite simple; he simply removed his shirt and wore only his vest. The whole party contributed their knives for Richard to throw. He tucked Kahlan's daggers in his boots; and Cara's contribution, a wickedly sharp long knife no one knew she had secreted in her pack, he tucked behind his belt.

Zedd and Kahlan traded their usual clothes for more colorful garments. Zedd found himself robes in gaudy scarlet velvet with gold trim. He begrudgingly added a floppy hat with a large feather Kahlan found for him. Of course, he only agreed to the hat if Kahlan would wear the dress he chose for her. It was a sky blue affair, airy and graceful. Zedd pronounced it the perfect dress for a singer at a festival.

Cara's costume took the most work. Zedd, Kahlan, and Richard disagreed on what a barbarian queen from the Wilds was supposed to look like. Cara merely leaned against the nearest wall to watch them argue. Whatever they decided on would be, she was certain, thoroughly embarrassing.

When they finally settled on a costume for Cara, though, it wasn't as ridiculous as she had feared. She found herself wearing dark leather pants, much like her Mord'Sith leathers, and a tunic without sleeves with strange symbols painted down each side in yellow by Zedd. Kahlan had insisted on a small dagger being strapped to Cara's left bicep like the real people of the Wilds would wear one. Richard's contribution was a great wolf hide cloak. The Sword of Truth, disguised magically by Zedd, was strapped to her back to complete the transformation.

A small troupe of performers entered Black Arrow's Point a day later. There were only four of them, and they didn't have a wagon or horses to carry any props. Besides how lightly these performers seemed to be traveling, their incredibly varied attire drew attention. They didn't look like the sort of people who would be traveling, much less performing, together.

As soon as they reached the town square, crowded as it was with festively dressed townspeople, the one wearing the robes of a conjurer gestured. A puff of flame and blue smoke erupted in front of the post standing at the center of the square. Moving with purpose and some air of authority, the other three moved to claim the space around the post. With the area effectively commandeered, the bearded black-haired conjurer hopped onto the raised platform around the base of the post and addressed the curious crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he shouted, his gravelly voice booming over the heads of the crowd. "You are privileged to be here today to witness the feats my companions and I will perform for you. You will see magic only performed by the greatest of wizards. You will gasp as daggers fly with deadly precision. You will marvel at a warrior from the deepest Wilds. You will weep at the voice of an angel."

Zedd paused for breath, certain he had the crowd eating out of his hand. A glance at Richard and Kahlan showed him they weren't so sure. He thought they looked nervous; they only hoped he wasn't being too overdramatic. Cara simply hoped he didn't get them all killed.

"I am Ruben Rybnik, king of conjurers and conjurer to kings. Graciously allow me to introduce my companions. This," he gestured grandly to the woman in the blue dress, "is Willow the Songstress."

Kahlan bowed grandly toward the crowd in front of her before turning and bowing in the opposite direction. A smattering of polite applause met her bows.

"This is the Huntsman, Dell Brandstone," Zedd bellowed. Richard hopped onto the steps surrounding the post and, giving the crowd his most charming smile, waved.

"And this," Zedd pointed to Cara standing still and impassive, "is a great warrior, a _queen_, of the tribes of the Wilds. I would tell you her name, but my tongue cannot even pronounce it. In her own tongue it means Fierce Protector, and she is not one to be underestimated."

More applause, mixed with excited whispers, rang once Zedd was finished introducing everyone. "We shall be most pleased to perform for the fine folks of Black Arrow's Point in one 'mark's time right here!" With a flourish and a bow, Zedd hopped off his perch and led the rest of the group from the square.

Promptly one candlemark later Zedd was performing small feats of "magic" for the crowd of townspeople gathered to see what the newest performers in town had to offer. To the delight of the crowd, Zedd was making things borrowed from members of the audience appear and disappear.

As Zedd performed his tricks, Richard, Kahlan, and Cara scanned the crowd for someone who might be a representative of the mayor. They all hoped to only need to perform a few times before being invited up to the keep. Well, everyone but Zedd wanted to do as few shows as possible; Zedd seemed to enjoy the life of a performer.

With one last great puff of smoke, Zedd relinquished the attention of the crowd to Kahlan. As she began with a well-known ballad, a small man in clothes too fancy to belong to a simple villager approached the edge of the crowd. By the time she was singing her final song, the mayor's representative had worked his way through the crowd to a position at the very front of the audience.

A round of applause from the audience was accompanied by a round of meaningful glances among the performers, making sure everyone was aware of the little man in the nice clothes. They had to impress the mayor's representative enough to get them invited to the keep. It was going to be up to Richard and Cara to finish strong.

Richard swaggered to the center of the cleared area that served as their stage. Cara followed, arms crossed and a scowl fixed firmly on her face. While Richard made a circuit of the cleared area, introducing himself and doing his best to charm the ladies in the crowd, Cara took quite seriously her job of looking as impressively intimidating as possible.

As he walked, Richard told the story of how he had rescued a wounded Cara from a shadrin, thus saving her life and winning her loyalty and friendship. Apparently, this loyalty had come with a great deal of trust, because Cara was now willing to let Richard throw knives at her. Zedd had said the story was close enough to the truth; they might as well use it.

Richard was nervous about using a live target, but Cara appeared to be at ease about the whole thing. Mord'Sith served the Lord Rahl in any way he saw fit. Playing a human target was just another way of serving this strange new Lord Rahl. Much to Richard's delight (and Cara's though she couldn't be tortured into admitting it) and the crowd's, Richard expertly landed every knife in the post behind Cara and not one in Cara herself.

After taking their bows, the group left the square to the continued applause of their audience. They intended to slip back to their campsite just outside of town but were waylaid by the mayor's representative, much to their collective delight. The first part of Zedd's plan seemed to be working.

The mayor's representative introduced himself as Samuel. "I've been keeping an eye on the best acts at the festival," he explained.

He was, perhaps, more impressed with his position than he had a right to be; but Zedd played into to his ego instead of deflating it.

"The mayor likes to welcome the best acts, like yours, to town personally. Would you be so kind as to accept Mayor Trenton's invitation to perform at the keep tomorrow evening?"

Grinning triumphantly, Zedd stepped forward to answer. "Nothing would please us more than to be allowed to perform for the mayor."

Five shows and a day and a half later, the troupe happily paraded up to the mayor's keep. Zedd had insisted that they must continue to perform even after the mayor's invitation or they would draw unwanted attention. Zedd's insistence on performing combined with his insistence that they make a grand entrance at the keep meant the scowl on Cara's face was most certainly not an act.

They were met at the gate by a single guard, all the others either in the town below enjoying the festivities or waiting in the great hall to see the various performers the mayor had summoned. The guard was obviously disappointed to be missing the show, but called as servant over to guide them to the great hall. Zedd thanked the man by producing a small coin from behind his ear.

The troupe was deposited in a small back hallway that led into the great hall and left to wait with a dozen other troupes for their turn to perform for the mayor. Every one of them was pleased to note that there were no servants or guards in the hall nor did the performers seem to be restricted to the hall. People in colorful costumes were coming and going, watching the other performers in the great hall or taking in the sights of the keep.

After a few minutes of observing, Richard announced that he wanted to explore the keep. Cara nodded her agreement and followed him toward the grand staircase in the front of the keep. Zedd nodded absently, waving them away, and continued his conversation with Kahlan about exactly what his nose was predicting the mayor was serving for dinner. Finally, still chuckling at Zedd's eccentricities, Kahlan led him from the hallway as well.

Both parties meandered through the keep, following other groups until they met each other. Eventually, they were away from the public areas of the keep and sneaking down corridors where no other guests had ventured. Zedd guided them deeper into the keep following the route he had been shown when he had visited the dungeon the first time.

Luckily, the festival had taken most of the staff away from their usual posts, which made sneaking around the keep far easier than it otherwise would have been. They only encountered one lone servant hurrying back in the direction of the great hall. Much to Cara's disappointment, they slipped around a corner to wait unseen while the servant hurried on.

Not a single guard stood at the entrance to the dungeon. With a few muttered words from Zedd, the lock was no longer a hindrance. Though their way had been easy up to that point, they suddenly found themselves confronted by at least a dozen surprised soldiers in the guardroom on the other side of the door.

Zedd stepped to the front of the group and threw out his hands. A pulse of air flew from his fingertips, driving fully half the guards against the wall. They certainly didn't want any of the guards getting out of the dungeon to warn the rest of the keep of what they were doing.

Richard was next in the door, charging the remaining guards with daggers drawn, forcing them even further into the room. Cara and Kahlan charged in together before Cara swung away to close and bar the door. Kahlan snatched the Sword of Truth from its place on Cara's back as she passed. Turning the movement into an attack, she slashed into a guard coming straight for Cara's unprotected back.

The fight was quick and as quiet as a fight could be. With Zedd guarding the door so no one could escape, Richard, Kahlan, and Cara subdued the rest of the guards with little trouble. The men had been expecting little trouble and were more than a little tipsy. When they were finally ready to move on, all of the guards were bound and propped against the wall.

Richard relieved the guard captain of his keys and followed Zedd quickly into the dungeon proper. Kahlan, carrying a lantern taken from the table in the guardroom, followed Richard. Cara stood watch at the entrance of the dungeon to prevent an unwanted surprise should the next shift of guards come on duty before the others were back with Flynn.

"Seeker!" Flynn exclaimed as soon as he caught sight of Richard, who was now in the lead. "Where's your shirt?" he continued, his enthusiasm not dimmed by his apparent confusion. His happy babble stopped short, though, when he caught sight of Zedd's and Kahlan's costumes. Even he was struck speechless by the sight.

Richard sifted through the keys he carried as quickly as he could. Once his cell door was open, Flynn popped out and caught Richard in a bear hug. He then hugged Zedd and Kahlan in turn, not stopped by their lack of response or strange new clothes. Only Cara's agiel pointed squarely at Flynn's face, saved her from a hug of her own when they were back in the guardroom.

The return trip through the keep's halls was quick. Zedd was hurrying them along as fast as he could, not counting on their luck or Flynn's silence to last for very long. Cara scouted ahead of everyone else, keeping away from Flynn as much as anything else.

Within sight of the doors to the keep their progress came to a sudden halt. A pair of guards passed their hiding spot, rushing into the great hall to raise the alarm about the duplicitous carnival act in their midst. Of course, their warning was more than a little bit difficult to understand since they had interrupted an acrobatic act's performance.

Panicked, Flynn fled for the keep doors across the hall. The guards in the great hall saw him as he ran and recognized him as the thief that had been rescued from the dungeon. As they rushed to catch him, Richard, Kahlan, Cara, and Zedd charged from their hiding spot to intercept them.

Zedd, being closest to Flynn from the start, reached him first. Grabbing his shoulder, he growled out a few arcane words and waved his unoccupied hand. He and Flynn both disappeared from the keep.

Rolling her eyes at Zedd and Flynn's convenient escape, Cara charged off to clear a path to the door. So long as she could keep anyone from closing the doors, she trusted Richard and Kahlan could fight their way out. Ramming her agiel into a guard's chest, bursting his heart, she took up a position at the door to keep it open.

Richard had taken the Sword of Truth from Kahlan on their way up from the dungeon. Now, he advanced on the surprised guards holding the weapon low. He slashed at a man's legs, catapulting the charging guard over his shoulder. Leaping up from his crouch, he tackled a pair of guards that were approaching Kahlan from the rear while she was distracted by the guards she was fighting.

Turning to smile her thanks at Richard, her hair swirling about her face, Kahlan caught sight of a guard advancing on Cara. She threw one of her daggers, hitting the man squarely between his shoulder blades. Grinning in grim satisfaction, she sprinted to where the man had fallen, Richard following in her wake.

Once Cara, Kahlan, and Richard had cleared the keep doors, Zedd, who had reappeared with Flynn outside, gestured at the doors, shouting words no one else had ever heard before. The doors slammed shut, cutting the few guards who had made it out off from their fellows inside. They were quickly taken care of before Kahlan, Richard, and Cara joined Zedd and Flynn.

The next morning the entire group was walking down a footpath through a particularly dense patch of forest, Cara in the point position. Everyone had changed back into their own clothes, and they were all more than grateful to be back to normal. Richard and Kahlan were talking and laughing quietly together, and Zedd and Flynn followed them. Zedd was filling Flynn in on what had happened and why they had been dressed so strangely when they'd come to his rescue.

"And that, my boy, is the story," he concluded.

Flynn laughed in surprise at Zedd's explanation. "I always knew this was a carnival act!"

A/N: Since the guy who made LotS also made Xena, I had thought about having Cara wear one of those outfits with all the fur and antlers. But…Cara being Cara, I figured she'd tell Zedd just what he could do with those antlers; and I was trying to keep this PG-13. It is rather a funny mental picture, though. Cara in the antlers, I mean.

On a serious note, I always want to hear what readers think about my stories. Please review.


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